Home > Big noise on Burr Road; ‘If you call the cops, we’ll just do it more.’

Big noise on Burr Road; ‘If you call the cops, we’ll just do it more.’

BETHEL, NY — Bob Davidson told the town board, “He made a comment to me that ‘you can’t make us not do it, and if you call the cops, we’ll just do it more.’”

He was talking about his neighbor Silverio Delponte, who owns a home at 125 Burr Rd. across the street from Davidson’s home. Davidson came with a couple of neighbors to complain about the 15 or so all-terrain vehicles and dirt bikes that race around a track on Delponte’s property all day on Memorial Day weekend and, based on behavior in previous years, will return nine or 10 more times throughout the season and race again.

Davidson said that, in his opinion, the operation amounts to a racetrack and a license is needed to operate such a facility. He also said that the machines were operating in violation of the town noise code.

Supervisor Dan Sturm said that a lot of people operate ATVs and dirt bikes on their property, and he did not think it was a good course of action to compel Delponte to get a license for a racetrack. But he did think it was reasonable to compel the neighbor to get a noise permit. Bethel code says if a neighbor can hear a noise with closed windows from 75 feet away from the property line, the noise is considered “unreasonable.”

Sturm explained that town could enforce conditions on a permit such as limiting the hours of operation, and perhaps moving the racing area to another place on the property.

At one point Davidson said, “Or they could just get mufflers for their machines and we won’t complain.”

Board member Denise Frangipane wanted to know if there was an attempt at mediation with the neighbor.

Sturm said he has experience with the owner and, “He doesn’t want to hear from the neighbors; he doesn’t care about the neighbors.”

The board voted to send the building inspector to the property to compel Delponte to get a noise permit for future racing events.

Segar and Rosenberg Road

The town board again discussed the matter of Segar and Rosenberg Road. Board member Lillian Hendrickson said the official name since 1950 has been “Segar and Rosenberg Road,” but at some point a highway supervisor must have erroneously put up the signs that left off the “Rosenberg” part of the name.

The Rosenberg’s granddaughter Adria Frede wrote to the board and said the family would object if the name of the road were changed and her grandparents’ name were deleted. Two other residents wrote and asked that the name be changed to “Segar” because that’s how residents have known it for many years.

Sturm, however, said tax records, deeds and county maps all record the road as “Segar & Rosenberg,” and that’s how it should remain.

The majority of the board voted to fix the current sign, which went up about a month ago and reads “Segar B. Rosenberg.”

Frangipane abstained, saying she did not have enough information about the matter, due to the fact that records could not be located that showed when and how the name was changed from “Segar” to the double name in 1950.